Evanescence 悔之无及
by Aesha
Summary: ‹COMPLETE› He had sent her eleven red roses, one each day. But on the twelfth day, he left her a fake rose on the table with a note that said: I will love you until the last rose dies.


**Evanescence**悔之无及  
_Written by_: **ÆSHÅ**  
_Dedicated to_: **Acaylee** and **Leslie**  
_Disclaimer_: CLAMP owns CCS. 

* * *

"_You are making a very foolish decision," said a black haired man in a very serious tone._

_The room in which he stood was dark and narrow, with a wall of screens and keyboards at the far end. The ceiling showed specs of illumination where the dimmed lights were placed in a somewhat uniform pattern. A girl standing on the other end of the room was in her early twenties. She stood peering at the screens and didn't turn around; she merely stood there with one hand behind her back._

"_You would think so, wouldn't you?" she remarked, rotating to face the man with a cryptic smile as emerald eyes glinted in the dark._

_A puff of smoke drifted from his lips as he said, "I see that you need time to think this over. We will meet again when you can give me a different answer."_

_The girl turned her back to the man. "My decision is final," she said. She threw something over her shoulder before walking out the door, and disappeared around the corner._

_The man lowered his cigar and looked at the object on the floor._

The Ace of Spades.

xXx

"_SA-KU-RA_!"

Emerald eyes snapped back to reality. 

"Tomoyo," Sakura removed a strand of auburn hair from her face, "did you say something?"

"Are you okay?"

The girl nodded. Although, her attention was completely on the raven haired man sitting beside her friend. "P-please resume," she said slowly.

"This is who I've been telling you about," the other girl smiled and held the man's hand warmly. "This is Hiiragizawa Eriol."

Ebony eyes smiled subtly at her. "I didn't think we'd meet again so soon," he said. "How are you, Sakura?"

"I'm fine, and you?" Sakura replied monotonously.

"Do you know each other?" Tomoyo asked.

"You can say that Sakura and I go way back." Eriol just smiled. He glanced at Sakura and folded his hands into a position that she instantly recognized.

Sakura looked away immediately, refusing to meet his gaze.

"Tomoyo, I saved you a copy of the book you've been telling me about." She quickly changed the topic in attempt to get the other girl out of the room. "I left it in the bottom drawer of the counter."

"Really?! Oh, Sakura, you're the bestest friend a girl can ask for!"

"A new book? Wonderful. Another week of being second place in your heart." 

Sakura frowned at the man's words, knowing that it was all just an act. Eriol smiled glibly. Her frown deepened when her friend suddenly threw her arms around the man and kissed him amorously on the lips. 

"You know that's not true!" she exclaimed. "I'll just let you two catch up on old things."

Sakura waited for Tomoyo to be out of sight before turning to glare gravely at the other man. "What the hell do you want, Eriol?" she growled.

"You already know the answer... _Sa-ku-ra_," the black head grinned. "Don't tell me you forgot what I said during our last encounter already. It has been five years, Sakura." His gaze fastened upon her face anxiously as he brought his hands towards her, running his fingers through her hair. "I want _you_."

She slapped his hand away, and landed a stinging smack across his cheek. "I won't let you touch me again. I'm no longer your lackey—I am through with being one! You can't control me anymore."

Eriol held a hand over his cheek with an inexplicable smile on his face. "Once a killer, always a killer—nothing you do can change that." He placed a card face down on the table. "Well," he said. "Turn it over. Don't you want to welcome back the good old memories?"

Her eyes trembled and shook with fear as the card turned over before her sight, bringing back unwanted memories from her haunted past.

_The Ace of Spades_.

Eriol suddenly got up from his seat and came up behind her, placing his dirty hands on her shoulders as he breathed heavily over her ears. Slowly gliding his tongue over her neck, he ran his hands down her sides, stopping at her waist.

"Kinomoto Sakura," he whispered lowly under his breath, "I always claim what's rightfully _mine_. I raised you, Sakura. You've had your fun; it's time to go home."

"No..."

He pulled away and laughed. "Don't tell me you still believe that God will forgive you for your sins if you decide to become _good_! Let me tell you something, Sakura—there _is_ no such thing as God and forgiveness."

"You are the Devil, Eriol—if you exist, then why shouldn't God?"

"Do you need me to remind you of your place?!" He pulled her out of her seat and slammed her against the table. "I didn't teach you to use your tongue for _this_. I'm starting to think that I spoiled you too much."

"I don't work for you anymore!" Sakura snapped.

He grabbed her by the neck with one of his hands and pushed her over the table.

"You don't have a choice, my dear. What is mine will _always_ be mine. You don't escape from me—nobody can—I _dispose_ of you. You got that?" He tilted her chin upwards to force her to look into his eyes before slapping her across the left cheek. "Don't look at me with hatred in your eyes. We both know that you can't kill me, Sakura."

Sakura looked at the floor in shame. He was right. She couldn't kill him...

He laughed and pushed himself on top of her. "There's the Sakura that I know and love."

"I'm no longer one of your assassins," she said quietly, not meeting his gaze.

"Don't be foolish, Sakura. You don't belong with the other people in this world. There is no one else for you _but_ me. Even your _dear_ best friend will abandon you when she finds out that you're the most wanted criminal."

"Are you threatening me that you will tell her?"

"I don't have to do such troublesome task and you will come back to me," he smirked. "Sakura, your hands are tainted with raw blood. You killed numerous of people, whether they deserved it or not. Whether I expose your secret to your friend and _boyfriend_ or not, it won't make a difference."

"If you get your dirty hands on them—"

He laughed again and released her from his hold. "Believe me. I give you my word that _I_ won't lay a finger on them."

"Mark my word, Eriol—I am longer one of your toys. I did all of your dirty work, and paid off my debt already. If you continue to provoke me, I _will_ kill you without any hesitation, even if it kills me trying."

He smirked. "I advise you to make your decisions wisely, Sakura. If you want to play, then I'll play with you. But I'm warning you though—I play double or _nothing_."

Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it when Tomoyo came into the room. "And what are you two gambling about?" she asked, eyeing the single card on the table. "Where's the rest of the deck?"

Eriol smiled sweetly. "I was just showing Sakura a magic trick. Are you ready to go?"

Tomoyo nodded. "I'm going to return this to you the next time, Sakura."

"You can have it. It's a gift," Sakura replied.

"I can't just take it!"

"You give me free clothes all the time. It's okay."

"See you next week, Sakura! I'll call you soon and discuss the novel!"

Sakura watched as the two walked off while holding hands. Eriol turned to give her a sly smirk. '_Tomoyo, how can I tell you in words that the man you think you're in love with isn't the man that he seems to be?'_

She had to warn the girl, tell her of Eriol's evil ways... but how? How could she do it without disgusting the girl with the _real_ Kinomoto Sakura?

_"Mommy! Daddy!" a little girl cried, helplessly, clinging onto the lifeless bodies on the ground. "Mommy, wake up! Daddy!" _

_Blood covered her from head to toe and tears ran down her cheeks, her cries barely making it through the sound of crackling fire. She looked to be no older than four years of age._

_"They're not going to wake up," a cold voice said behind the girl. "You can't help them, and no one is going to hear your cries either."_

_"They're n-not?"_

_The young girl opened her eyes to reveal magnificent green orbs that seemed to glow brightly before the fire. "No," she answered. "But don't worry... you won't have to miss them at all."_

_And she lunged the katana through the little child's chest. She wiped the sword clean, throwing the cloth stained with fresh blood over the dead bodies, and turned around to walk away, exiting through the back door. She stood on the porch for a while to look at her surrounding, and then turned back to look at the house one last time._

_She casually tossed the Ace of Spades over her shoulder and disappeared into the night._

Sakura felt sick to her stomach just remembering half of the things that she had done when she used to work for Eriol. For the longest time, she didn't know what kind of person she was.

She had thought that if she left Eriol, she would be able to escape his clutches and let go of the past, to live a different life. One that didn't involve the organization.

Over the years, Sakura adopted a _normal_ lifestyle and settled herself down in the small town of Tomoeda, where she opened a small bookstore and earned her living just like everyone else. She was no different than the other people, and, for the first time in her life, she understood the real meaning of the word 'life'.

Eriol had taught her a different meaning when they met. 

_'Life is the satisfaction knowing that you are victorious. You can only be a victor by being strong and powerful_—_feelings and compassion only make you weak_,' he had said. _'Open your eyes, little Sakura, and listen to the beautiful screams__. Yes, listen to them scream in agony and pain. This, little Sakura, is Life. You will learn to love Life and the satisfactory that it brings.'_

Sakura remembered that day as if it was just yesterday.

It had seemed like a beautiful day to Sakura when the sun rose in the sky, and she was running alongside the other kids at the orphanage. Six year old Kinomoto Sakura and all the other kids stopped playing immediately when they caught side of a stranger on the playground, standing beside their caretaker. All of the attention were on the black-haired man; some admired how cool he had looked with a row of men standing behind him, while some wondered what he was there for and why he was looking at each and every one of them individually.

Little Sakura flinched when he caught sight of her and whispered something to the caretaker before walking towards her direction and kneeling down in front of her. _'Don't you look like a ball of sunshine?'_ he had said to her. _'What's your name?'_

_'S-Sakura.'_

_'Tell me, Sakura-chan, why are you so happy? All of the other kids look so miserable at this place, but why are you so happy?'_

_'Otou-san said to always be happy.'_

_'My name is Hiiragizawa Eriol, and I will be your new guardian. You will go home with me, Sakura. Something you should know about me is that happiness disgusts me.'_

With a snap of a finger, what Sakura had called _home_ turned into a pile of rubbish as blood spilt everywhere and everyone she cherished crumbled feebly to the ground. The whole orphanage... _massacred_ in the matter of minutes.

She was the only survivor.

Sakura had asked Eriol why he chose her, why her of all the other kids. And he had said to her, _'Because you had happiness in your eyes, and I hate happiness.'_

She hated him.

She hated him for killing the people that she had had left.

"But not anymore," she said to herself, crumbling the card and tossing it into the trash can. "I'm not giving up without a fight."

"Give what up without a fight?" 

Her eyes snapped over to the door, finding a six-foot chestnut-brown haired man standing in the doorway with a red rose in one hand. He slid an arm around her shoulders, pulled her toward him, and kissed her softly on the lips. 

"Is everything okay?" he asked, amber eyes looking down at her with concern. "You looked tense before I came in."

Sakura nodded. "I'm alright."

"You sure?"

"I can take care of myself, Syaoran," she said. "You don't have to worry. Now, what's the rose for?"

He handed her the rose with an embarrassed smile on his face. "W-well, our anniversary is coming up in twelve days and I want to do something s-special for you... so I... erm..."

Sakura smiled. He looked so adorable when he blushed like a tomato.

"I'll be sending you a red rose every day for twelve days," he finished.

"Like a countdown?"

"Y-yeah..."

Sakura smiled again. That was one of the effects that he had on her. Every time she was around him, she found herself doing things she had never done before. That was what had drawn her to him in the first place.

They met by accident three years ago. He had came into the bookstore to ask for directions, and then he came back the next day to buy a book. The day after that, he picked out a few books and stayed in the café until Sakura had to come up to tell him that she was closing down for the night. 

The routine continued for a little while. He would show up every now and then, but his visits were inconsistent. He would drop by one day and wouldn't come again until the week after. Sometimes, it would be months before he dropped by again. He just came and go as he pleased.

He started talking to her one day, and they met up a few times afterwards. They became an official couple about a year ago—twelve more days and it would be their one year anniversary as a couple.

Sakura was planning to introduce Syaoran to Tomoyo on that day. Even though Sakura had talked about Syaoran in front of her friend, the two never had a chance to really meet each other face to face. Syaoran always seemed so busy, like there was something about him that he was hiding from her. Sometimes, Sakura wondered how much she really knew about him.

She didn't let that become an obstacle in their relationship though, because she was hiding something from him as well.

_Her past_.

xXx

The door creaked open slowly, and a man, heavily clad in black, looked up alertly as another man stepped into the dreary room. 

The man said as he reached the table and his face was illuminated by the light hanging over it. Eriol grinned ingeniously at the man standing in the corner, darkness concealing his identity. "I'm quite sad to let you go, but if you insist on leaving..." the black head started saying slowly, putting a cigar to his lips. "_I_ won't be the one to stop you."

A long pause followed.

"However, I have to ask you to complete two more tasks for me," said Eriol. "You have two targets."

"The pay?"

Eriol chuckled. "You are quite different from my other assassins," he smiled slyly. "Let's just say that you won't need to work for the rest of your life."

"Names?"

"No names." Eriol held up a photo of a familiar lavender haired girl with amethyst eyes. "The girl in this photo is your first target. I trust that you know what to do."

"And the other target?"

"A traitor." He threw the cigar onto the floor, crushing it with his heel. "Dispose of the weed. A week from today, I will lure her to the abandoned training house on the mountains."

"Understood."

"Oh, and put this over the first target's dead body."

He laid the Ace of Spades on the table and walked away.

xXx

Sakura was worried.

It had been ten days already.

She hadn't seen Tomoyo at all since the day the girl came to visit with Eriol. Sakura was worried that something had happened, but she didn't want to make any rash actions or start jumping to conclusions. She tried calling the other girl many times, but she only reached the voicemail.

Syaoran assured her that everything was okay. Sakura started to believe so herself and told herself that everything was okay. Sakura knew that Eriol was a smart man; he wouldn't try anything stupid.

That was what she believed...

Suddenly, one afternoon, a man and a woman came into the bookstore and cleared all of her customers.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Sakura cried in rage. "What do you people want?"

"Miss Kinomoto Sakura?" the man looked at her solemnly.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Agent Saigo," said the woman. "And this is Agent Takuya. We would like to discuss the death of Agent Daidouji with you."

"W-wait," Sakura stuttered, not believing the words she was hearing. "Agent Daidouji—_death_?!"

"Agent Daidouji Tomoyo was working undercover for the FBI. The government has reasons to believe that Hiiragizawa Eriol has been dealing with illegal organizations and handling a sum of hired assassins, one of which is number one on our 'Most Wanted' list," said Agent Takuya.

Sakura pretended to be surprised by the information about Eriol. "What does this have to do with me?"

"Twenty years ago, an unknown group massacred an orphanage, killing everyone inside and burning the whole place down." Agent Saigo showed some pictures of the wrecked orphanage to Sakura. "I believe you are familiar with the orphanage, Miss Kinomoto. For _you_ are the sole survivor of the massacre. We've been searching for you ever since, and Agent Daidouji found you when you opened this bookstore."

"And you think I am connected to Hiiragizawa Eriol?"

"We are hoping you'd be able to tell us what happened twenty years ago and where you have been for the past twenty years."

"I ran away from the orphanage that day and was taken in by an old lady," was all Sakura said.

"Please, Miss Kinomoto, tell us what you know. The truth will help us put this dangerous man behind bars!"

"I know nothing of Hiiragizawa Eriol except he came to the orphanage that day, looking for someone to adopt. An old lady found me in the street and I've been living in the mountains with her until recently."

Agent Takuya held a plastic storage bag in front of her. "This was found at the crime scene," he said. "This is the trademark signature of our most wanted criminal, who we believe to be working for Hiiragizawa Eriol. We don't know who this criminal is or what he looks like, we just call him 'the Ace of Spades' because he always leaves this card at the crime scene."

Ironic that they assumed the most wanted criminal was a man.

"You think _he_ did this?"

"We're guessing that he has returned after disappearing for five years," said Agent Saigo. "Miss Kinomoto, sorry for bothering you today. I know this must be very shocking to you at the moment, and we cope with your loss. Agent Daidouji did consider you as her best friend, please don't think otherwise."

"May I ask what caused her death?"

"A shot to the head."

The agents finally bid their goodbye after getting no other information from Sakura.

Though Sakura wanted nothing more than to see Eriol locked away, she knew for a fact that the laws and authorities had no effect on the man or whatsoever. The only place that could truly held the man in captive was Hell, and Sakura planned to send him there.

xXx

"Is something bothering you?" Syaoran asked over dinner.

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts. "N-no. I'm just thinking about Tomoyo."

"I'm sure she's okay, Sakura. Don't worry."

Sakura looked down at the floor. "She's dead."

Silverwares clattered on the table. "W-What?"

"Two FBI agents came to see me yesterday," she said quietly. "They said she died on a mission."

"You never mentioned that she's an FBI agent."

"I never knew either." Sakura sighed, running a hand through her hair in frustration. "I'm just—why _her_ of all people, Syaoran?"

"It's just how life goes around. Love ones come and go." He said, softly, cutting lines through his steak. Sakura saw a strange look in his eyes, one she hadn't seen before. He looked _penitent_.

She had always viewed Syaoran to be the distant type of man, one that just needed love and comfort in his life. He said that he was a businessman, and she assumed that work probably took a lot of his time. He always seemed so..._lonely_.

Sakura slid her hand across the table to held onto his tightly. "_You_ won't go away. Right, Syaoran?"

He smiled and said, "I won't leave you, Sakura."

"What if... one day... you just do?" she asked. "...and I don't mean physically..."

"Cut my chest open and pull out my heart, so even if it stops beating, I'd still be with you."

"Syaoran, I'm serious!"

"And so am I, Sakura." 

She could tell that he was serious by the look in his eyes.

"I have never been able to do what my heart says to do all my life," he said. "I've always felt trapped within myself, like I'm a prisoner of my own body. When I fell in love with you, Sakura, it was the first time in my life I had actually listened to my heart. And if I have to die one day in the future, I want to die as a free man."

"Syaoran, I'm not really following you..."

He just smiled. "It's the wine talking," he said with a short chuckle. "Everything will be okay tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

He gestured to the rose beside her. "Don't forget—last rose tomorrow."

"Our anniversary."

"I'm sorry that I won't be here," he said. "I have to meet an important client, but I'll try to be back as soon as I can."

"It's okay. We'll just see each other the day after," she continued. "Besides, I get to see your big present tomorrow."

He smirked slightly. "And what's _your_ big present to me?"

"How about we have _crème brûlée_ at my place tonight?" she suggested.

And no, it wasn't the wine talking. Sakura knew what she was getting herself into, and she had prepared herself for it.

Syaoran lifted her hand and his lips grazed ever so softly against the knuckles. Then he brushed butterfly kisses on each fingertip. 

He paused to look at her. "Sakura, are you sure...?"

She drew in a small breath and let it out slowly with a nod.

xXx

Sakura didn't move as they lay in her bed together, and Syaoran could feel how she was breathing as heavily as he was. He slowly slid his cheek over hers, pulling back, finally being able to look at her face. Her eyes were closed, but she tentatively opened them when she sensed he was facing her, his mouth so close to hers she could feel him breathing. And he closed the distance between them, his lips reaching for hers and softly touching her, a light brush. Sakura didn't pull away, and the tension she was feeling disappeared when she pressed her mouth a little harder against his. 

He kissed her more deeply and suddenly a wave of heat washed over her, making her lose control over everything. She completely lost herself in him and her arms flew around his neck, as she kissed back with just as much fire as he did, not believing the rush of emotions running through her, the rush of emotions he was causing her to have. 

Syaoran could hardly believe it when he felt her responding like that, kissing him back eagerly, her hands running through his hair, making him dizzy, weak, and crazy. He held her against him, and he kept his mouth on hers, barely letting her breathe, not wanting the feelings to stop ever. He gently pushed her down onto the mattress, still stunned with how she was reacting, feeling as though he was in a dream and wishing he wouldn't wake up.

"_Sakura_..." He managed to call her name, longing to see the way she would look at him. 

She opened her eyes and stared at him, breathless, not wanting him to stop, instead wanting him to make her feel even better. 

"Syaoran, I want to be with you tonight..." She pulled his head down and kissed him again, one kiss after another—everything in her head and around her completely vanishing.

xXx

Sakura woke up to the early light of dawn hitting through her window. She rolled over to her side, finding that Syaoran wasn't there, and she sat straight up in bed while looking out the window. She remembered the events of last night and smiled gently to herself as she headed for the shower.

She took a short shower and walked back out into the room with a towel wrapped around her body. She stood by the bedside table and picked up the red rose along with the note sitting beside it.

A smile spread over her face. "Syaoran..."

Sakura crouched down on the floor on her knees. Reaching under the bed, hands trembling with tenseness, she pulled out a dull gray case. She opened the lid and traced the outline of the long sword.

"It's time..."

xXx

Eriol took his cigar out of his mouth and held the wet end between the fingers of his woolen glove. He spun his chair around when the doors slammed open.

"I knew you'd come," he greeted a familiar face.

Sakura stood in the doorway, dressed in black and a cloak covering her face so that only her eyes were visible. The sword, clutched in her right hand, was dripping with fresh blood.

"Why—?" her voice cracked. "Why you fucking bastard?!"

"It's all part of my plan," he smirked like always. "I gave you my word that _I_ won't lay a hand on your love ones—never said anything about not hiring others."

"I'd cut your throat, and then find the bastard that killed her!"

"You don't have to find him. He's waiting for you," he continued slowly, his tone was nonchalant and unconcerned. "Where you used to live on the mountains."

Sakura growled. "What are you up to, Eriol?"

"I already told you, Sakura." He smirked again.

"Damn you. Don't think I won't kill you."

He spun his back to her and said, "The place is wired to explode in a minute. As I am speaking right now, the time is decreasing. I say you have about a little over half a minute to get out of here. Can you kill me and escape with your life?"

_Damn_.

"Don't you want to kill the person who killed your friend?" He taunted.

Sakura tightened her grip on the katana and moved her gaze over to the window before glancing at the man's back. She wondered what he was up to. Why did he wire his own place to set up his death? Why did he encourage her to go after revenge? Why was he waiting for her...?

All the why's, but not enough time.

She fled towards the window and crashed into it, tiny pieces of shards flew everywhere as an explosion came behind her. Sakura hit the ground with a thud, rolling over a few times before pulling herself together.

"Damn him," she cursed. "Could've warned me faster so I could take the stairs."

Note the sarcasm in her voice.

Sakura looked up at the burning building quietly. W-Was he dead?

_'Why, Eriol?'_

xXx

She stepped out of the car after pulling into the driveway. She looked at the house and her surrounding, cautiously, holding her sword close to her. Eriol wouldn't have bothered to tell her about his hired henchman before dying if he wasn't anything special.

She took a step forward towards the house, but stopped abruptly when she saw a flickering light in the corner of her eye. She briefly saw a small light over her chest and jumped out of the way, noticing the figure crouching on the roof.

"_Crap_, he hired a sniper!" she cursed to herself. "Just _wonderful_."

She hated snipers. Not only did her katana lose some of its advantages, it was also slower than a gun in many ways. And judging from how well the shot was, Sakura knew that the person wasn't a regular chump either. Eriol spent his money well.

She quickly pushed herself across the grass to avoid some more shots before springing onto her feet and running into the forest. The running reminded her of the time she had used to live in this place, where Eriol had trained her day and night. She still remembered the traps from her training sessions. The sniper was bound to get caught in one of the traps. After all, he couldn't have known about them.

"But just in case..." Sakura climbed onto a tree branch and hid herself well when she came to the end of the forest. Up a head was a cliff that was hundreds of feet above sea level, which was going to become the sniper's burial ground.

She stood on the branch and waited patiently for the sniper to come (if he survived all of the traps).

"You think I don't know about the traps?" Sakura started when a voice said behind her.

She dodged a bullet just in time as she leapt off the branch and backed up slowly towards the cliff, preparing herself for a very tiring battle. Apparently, she had underestimated the sniper's abilities. He was good... _real_ good.

The sniper wore black like her with a mask over his head.

"You're quick," he said.

Sakura adjusted the katana in her hand. "And you're not half bad. Eriol must've spent a lot of money on you."

He merely grunted and pointed the rifle at her, pulling the trigger without aiming. Sakura jumped out of the way, barely dodging the bullet. He wasn't _just_ good, he was _exceedingly_ good if he could accurately target her location without taking time to aim.

Sakura did a half flip in the air, pulling a card from her pockets and threw it towards his direction. The card spun, quickly, slitting a cut on his hand and causing him to drop the rifle.

"The Ace of Spades isn't just for show." She said before pulling her sword out and charging at him with full speed.

She swiftly swung the sword at him, scratching a part of his arm, and launched a low uppercut to his chin, which he blocked with ease. He twisted her arm back and delivered a jab to her ribs. Sakura let out a raspy cough before turning her sword over and swinging it at him to free herself.

"You're not half bad with the sword." He mocked, coldly. "It's quite a dangerous toy for a little girl."

Sakura threw her sword to the side. "We'll just see."

She pushed the drenched bangs out of her eyes. Using the sleeve of her jacket she wiped the sweat off her face, but she never took her eyes off him. He was planning something. She didn't know what, but whatever it was it was going to be deadly.

Then, just as suddenly, he lunged at her.

Strong hands closed around her throat, choking off her air supply. Almost without thinking Sakura struck back, punching her assailant in the stomach and she backed away. He grabbed hold onto her wrist and pulled her towards him. Sakura stepped back and twisted her arm free only to receive a punch to her stomach that bent her over and drove the air out of her lungs.

She staggered away from him this time gasping for breath and trying to get back under control. She wasn't out of danger yet. With a shaking hand she pushed her hair out of her eyes again. But before she could straighten up completely he was on her again. 

Somehow he'd managed to get behind her. She hadn't seen him even move.

He threw punch after punch in a flurry while Sakura blocked and countered. She hit him a couple of times, and he hit her, but neither making any progress in defeating the other person.

Sakura knew she was in deep trouble. The sniper was fast, faster than she thought he'd be, and his punches were accurate and powerful. She could tell that if he landed one good punch he could knock her out. 

She went after him with a flurry of punches, jabs and fakes. He countered most of them, but once again she slipped past his guard. This time she landed a left jab to his chin that pushed him backwards almost off the cliff.

"You're starting to become a pain in my ass," he scolded and assumed his fighting stance again. "Let's end this, shall we?"

Sakura didn't know who the sniper was, but she really hated his arrogance.

This time he took the offensive. He came at Sakura with one-two combinations of punches and jabs. And finally he landed one, punching her in the stomach. Sakura stumbled backward across the grass but didn't put down her guard.

She straightened up and prepared herself for another round. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Sakura acknowledged that they were well matched. He was stronger, but she was faster.

Sakura suddenly made a single mistake by getting too close to the cliff and lost her balance for a slight second. He, however, saw her mistake and took it to his advantage. He sent a right punch to her stomach and left jab to her chin, sending Sakura to the ground.

The outcome was revealed: she lost in the hand-to-hand combat.

She screamed in excruciating pain as he kicked her on the side while she was sprawling on the ground, hand pressed to her stomach. It hurt just to breathe. Her head flopped over to one side where her sword laid. Her emerald eyes closed as her breathing slowed.

She mentally calculated the situation in her head.

She was obviously no match for him in hand-to-hand combat. She could tell that he was behind her, just standing there and waiting for her to show any signs of movement. She heard a gun cock behind her.

Sakura swallowed hard.

It would take her about a second to grab her sword and another second to turn around, but it would take about two seconds in order for her sword to touch him. But how long would it take for him to pull the trigger and shoot her brain her out? Less than the time it would take her.

She reached up slowly to pull her cloak down. 

It was determined.

Her hand rested on the katana, sweats forming in the palm of her hand.

"Kiyaaaa!" She let out a piercing cry and swung her sword around.

For a moment, she thought he was going to pull the trigger and end the battle already, but he didn't. His body seemed to freeze and something flickered across his eyes for a brief second. Sakura closed her eyes and let her sword did the work.

There was darkness in front of her as her heart skipped a beat, and she felt an unfamiliar pain in her chest.

She opened her eyes, gazing at the headless body before her and the head resting beside the body. She dropped the sword to the ground, her hands trembling in numbness. She couldn't believe how close the battle was. She lucked out completely.

She took a step forward towards the head as she knelt down before it.

He was an enemy to be honored. He fought a good fight.

Sakura removed the mask from his head, and her eyes shook in terror. Her hands shivered with chills running down her spine, like something was stabbing at her heart.

"S-Syaoran..." the name escaped her lips softly as she gazed at the face before her.

Lifeless amber eyes were looking at her in surprise. That was why he didn't pull the trigger. He saw that it was her when she pulled down her cloak.

"No..." she cried. "Syaoran, NO!"

Her mind was going numb, she couldn't think straight anymore. All she could process in her head was the fact that she had killed the man she loved with her own hands. She killed him.

"My God..." she scooped the head up and held it close to her chest. "Syaoran, I'm sorry..."

_'Everything will be okay tomorrow,'_ he had said to her the night before.

_'What is mine will always be mine. You don't escape from me—nobody can—I dispose of you. You got that?'_ she remembered Eriol's words. 

His plan.

He wanted to dispose of them. He wanted them to kill each other, because they were leaving him. Eriol didn't want anyone leaving him. He knew he had to find someone strong enough to kill them. That's why he set them up to kill each other. He didn't have to lift one finger.

That's why he set up his own death—to tell Sakura that he had won the game.

"Syaoran..." She ran her hand through his hair and kissed his forehead affectionately. "You said you wouldn't leave me."

She brushed a strand of hair from her eyes and gently traced her finger over his lips.

_'Cut my chest open and pull out my heart, so even if it stops beating, I'd still be with you.'_

_"I have never been able to do what my heart says to do all my life," he said. "I've always felt trapped within myself, like I'm a prisoner of my own body. When I fell in love with you, Sakura, it was the first time in my life I had actually listened to my heart. And if I have to die one day in the future, I want to die as a free man."_

Sakura placed the head on the ground and slowly moved over to his body. She used her sword to cut through his shirt and drove the tip into his chest. Biting back the tears, she cut his chest open and pulled out his heart. She held his organ in her quivering hands, her tears mixing with his blood.

"You're free..." she said in a faint voice. 

She removed the gun from his hand and point it to her own heart.

"But I'm nothing without you," she added and pulled the trigger.

_Nothing._

She didn't feel anything as she thought of the vase of roses on her bedside table.

Twelve roses.

He had sent her eleven red roses, one each day; but on the twelfth day, he left her a fake rose on the table with a note that said:

_I will love you until the last rose dies._

Completed: **07.13.07**  
**Happy Birthday, Syaoran!**

* * *

_Evanescence: too late for regrets._


End file.
